Windhorst Predicts Giannis' Next Contract Won't Be with Bucks amid Rumors on Future

As Giannis Antetokounmpo keeps talking about where the future might take him, one prominent analyst is predicting the 28-year-old's long-term outlook likely won't include the Milwaukee Bucks.

Appearing on NBA Today, ESPN's Brian Windhorst said he would predict Antetokounmpo's next contract will "probably" be with another team.

Even though Bucks fans don't want to believe this is a possibility, it's hardly going out on a limb to think Antetokounmpo could be closing in on the end of his time in Milwaukee.

In an interview with Tania Ganguli of the New York Times that published on Aug. 24, Antetokounmpo spoke openly about what he wants to see from the Bucks as he thinks about his future:

"You've got to see the dynamics. How the coach is going to be, how we're going to be together. At the end of the day, I feel like all my teammates know and the organization knows that I want to win a championship. As long as we're on the same page with that and you show me and we go together to win a championship, I'm all for it."

In the same interview, Antetokounmpo said signing an extension this offseason didn't make sense from a financial perspective: "But next year, next summer it would make more sense for both parties. Even then, I don't know."

Antetokounmpo is currently eligible to sign a three-year, $169 million extension until Oct. 23. Doing so would tie him to the Bucks through the 2028-29 season.

If Antetokounmpo waits until next summer to sign, he could get a four-year deal worth approximately $234 million but it could increase to $258 million depending on how much the salary cap increases.

While the Bucks remain one of the top title contenders in the Eastern Conference going into this season, their long-term prospects don't look as rosy. The core around Antetokounmpo features Brook Lopez (35 years old), Jrue Holiday (33 years old) and Khris Middleton (32 years old).

The front office doesn't have any first-round picks to trade until 2028 as a result of the Holiday trade.

No one can argue the trade was bad because the Bucks won a championship in Holiday's first season with the team, but it has helped put them in the bind they currently face trying to build out the roster going forward.

Even if the Bucks were to win another title this season, it's hard to see how that might significantly alter Antetokounmpo's thought-process because the long-term concerns about the age of those other players is still going to be there.

It might make it harder for Antetokounmpo to justify a potential trade request next summer in that scenario. But that would present another problem for the Bucks because he can opt out of his deal after the 2024-25 season.

Losing Antetokounmpo in any scenario would be devastating for the franchise, but losing him as a free agent without getting anything back in return would likely set them back much longer than if they could trade him for a significant return.

This is definitely an unenviable position for Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst to be in, but he could always find ways to make a surprise acquisition or two that no one is thinking about right now that will entice Antetokounmpo to stay with the organization that drafted him in 2013.